Luke Kaumatule's tenure as Stanford's starting tight end is over. He has been moved back to defensive end to shore up an area plagued by injuries.

The 6-foot-7, 267-pound sophomore from Hawaii had been recruited as a defensive end but was switched to tight end last year because the coaches correctly anticipated Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo would turn pro after their junior seasons.

According to head coach David Shaw, Kaumatule told him, "Sounds like fun," when Shaw asked him Monday to play defense again.

The problems in the defensive line were demonstrated in Saturday's 27-21 loss to Utah. The whole defense struggled against the Utes, but the line looked especially thin. Linebacker Trent Murphy had Stanford's only sack.

Defensive end Henry Anderson is out at least another couple of weeks with a knee injury. All-Pac-12 defensive end Ben Gardner is nursing an arm contusion. Tackle David Parry is playing with a lower abdominal strain. Backup tackle Ikenna Nwafor is out with a leg injury.

Meanwhile, sophomore end Aziz Shittu hasn't produced in practice the way the coaches had expected. "It's got to show up in practice before it appears in a game," Shaw said, an oblique way of saying Shittu needs to get his act together.

Kaumatule didn't catch a pass last year in nine appearances as the third-string tight end. As the starter this year, he caught just three for 16 yards. His blocking seemed OK, but his hands were questionable. The coaches believe his athleticism will be more helpful on defense.

"Luke hasn't caught a lot of passes but has played well," Shaw said. "He's coming off his best game."

Shaw said the team needs a spark in the defensive line, and, "Luke's a human spark." He ran through his first practice on defense Monday night, and Shaw said the team "felt his energy."

It's not known how much he'll play in Saturday's 12:30 p.m. home game against UCLA, a rematch of last season's Pac-12 championship game. But Shaw said, "There's a chance he's going to grow into a contributing role on defense."

The Cardinal, who dropped from fifth to 13th in the AP poll, now have another converted defensive lineman, junior Charlie Hopkins, listed as their No. 1 tight end. Hopkins has caught one pass for 4 yards.